Tuesday, December 30, 2014

In our family, Santa Mouse comes along with Santa. He leaves a present in the tree for each family member. Each is tied with yellow ribbon. The tradition started when my oldest sister read about him in a library book years ago.

The tradition is important to me, and I've introduced it to Andrew's family and some friends. This year, Mom had little wooden sock blockers made, and I told her I'd help her knit socks for them. These became our Santa Mouse gifts.

It ended up that Mom didn't have time to knit the socks, and since I have scrap sock yarn from now until eternity forever and ever amen, I knit them.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

I feel the need to hit pause. Christmas is happening, and the days seem to be speeding up. We're careening toward the 25th and the moment when I realize I have to undecorate the house and put all that glittery stuff back in boxes. I'm working hard to slow down and enjoy this season where we work to light up the darkness.

I'm trying to squeeze in the important stuff. Last Saturday, we saw Yuletide, the holiday show put on by the Indianapolis Symphony, or, as I like to call it, "my friend, Brandy." Bran is the Line Producer for the show, and the woman knows how to PUT ON A SHOW.

After the show, we walked out to see the lights on the Circle.

I have been lucky enough to watch two other live Christmas shows in addition to Yuletide: The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical at Theatre on the Square and Elf at the Murat. The only things those shows have in common is that they're musicals, and they use the word "Christmas" in the dialogue, and I enjoyed them both. (A keg of spiked eggnog that has gone bad plays a prominent role in Trailer Park, as does a song titled, "Fuck It, It's Christmas.")

I have a list of nostalgic shows I want to rewatch this season. Thus far I've only managed to watch White Christmas and Twas the Night Before Christmas, but I hope to remedy this soon.

Knitting time has decreased, as it always does this time of year. I do have one project I can show you--well, half of it anyway. I didn't get a photo of the whole project before I wrapped them and gave them away.

Pretty, right? The problem is, it hurts to knit this pattern. The end of each cluster is a k3tog, yo, k3tog all in the same stitch, and it's brutal on the hands. I bought a thimble, guys. A thimble.

I decided this was a pretty pattern, but not pretty enough to justify bloody fingertips.

After contemplating a bit, I decided that the thing to do was to knit a toe-up pattern. I was using a mill end with well under 400 yards, and I was making it for a friend with manly big feet. I did not want to run out of yarn (like I've done before). I weighed the skein and started.

And it was way too big.

Frog again.

The third time was the charm.

They did end up with shorter legs than I would have knit normally, so I'm glad I did toe-up and weighed the yarn.

I like these, and the stitch pattern is very easy. I think the brown color makes it look like tree bark. I can imagine doing these again top-down.

I probably should be knitting some tiny sock ornaments I'm supposed to be helping my mom make, but I've become enraged by gauge after doing 2 and ending up with wildly different sized ornaments (one of which didn't fit the little blocker Mom wants it to fit on). The whole whack of it is in time out until I figure out what sacrifice I need to make to the yarn gods in order to get it to work. Instead, I think I'd rather make another pair of Fightin' Words mitts. Everyone I know needs a pair of those!